The article on this page, from memorabilia of the Robert Gillespie branch
of the John Gillespie family, is believed to have been printed originally in
1957. George A. Gillespie, son of Civil War soldier Alexander Gillespie, served
seven terms for the second district of Genesee County in the Michigan State House
of Representatives. Born on March 20, 1883, George Gillespie died while in office
in 1960.

His brother, Alexander Garfield Gillespie, was a U.S. Army brigadier general who played football at West Point and retired in Washington, D.C., in 1947.

SURPRISE MEETING - Standing in front of the Parliament building in Stormount,
Ireland, are (from left) Albert E. Stantiford, Davison, Lord Brooksborough, prime
minister of Northern Ireland and State Rep George A. Gillespie, Gaines. Stantiford
and Gillespie, who met for the first time during a recent trip to Ireland, toured
Parliament with the prime minister.

THEY LIVE 20 MILES APART

Solon, Constituent Meet in Belfast

Few legislators have to travel as far to meet a constituent as State Rep. George A. Gillespie, Gaines, last month.
He was visiting Belfast, Ireland, when he met Albert E. Stantiford, Davison, one of the Genesee County voters who
helped elect him. A friend of Gillespie here had told him that Stantiford and his wife were in Belfast and suggested the
legislator contact them.

"Albert was just about the most surprised man I've ever seen," Gillespie said. "We had a wonderful time together
traveling in and around Belfast, even though I didn't know a single person there before I went."

Gillespie flew to Belfast during the last week in September to visit the birthplace of his father, who was born
near there in 1834. It was the first time Gillespie had been in Ireland. "It's a trip I've been wanting to make for years,"
he said. Highlights of Gillespie's first trip were a visit with the prime minister of Northern Ireland, Lord Brooksborough,
and a motor trip through the "brilliant green countryside." Motoring with Stantiford, Gillespie saw a group of Irish
farmers loading oats by hand. "We couldn't pass that by," Gillespie said, "so we got our cameras set up and took
turns pitching oats."

It was not the first trip to Ireland for the Stantifords. Although he was born in England, Stantiford and his parents
moved to Ireland soon after. He spent his childhood and early youth there. In 1929, the Stantifords came to Flint and
he started a job with Buick which lasted 31 years. He retired last year. The couple returned from Ireland last week
after visiting relatives in Belfast for three months.

"Seeing Rep. Gillespie over there was the biggest surprise I've ever had," Stantiford said. "It's not often you have
to go 3,000 miles to meet a man who lives only 20 miles from your home."

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